Probably sometime soon -- I chalk up my inaction less to Chowhound-type-attitude than sheer laziness (as in "it's across the water, do I really want to make the effort?" yes I know it's whiny. so sorry.)

The noodles with meat juices is, come to think of it, rather Italian in concept (except executed through a southeast Asian prism).

My friend, who lives right around the corner from Fatty 'Cue, and who I have accompanied there for drinks a couple of times, has been absolutely dying to have dinner there. Last night we walked in a few minutes before 7, and while the bar was pure hell (packed full of screaming, jostling, sweaty scensters) the back downstairs dining room we were quickly ushered into was cool and fairly comfortable and also kind of pretty. It's a very rough aesthetic, but the skylight and the silly pig light fixture and the swath of 'old' wallpaper somehow all come together.

Sadly the best thing about the meal was the service. A shout out to Russ, who seemed to have some managerial capacity as well as acting as our waiter. Whatever his role, the guy is a total pro and made the mostly disappointing food much easier to swallow. The front of house fellow we engaged with also could not have been nicer or friendlier. Reports from those close to me have indicated that the bar staff can be a bit difficult at times, however.

And while on the subject of the bar, drink prices border on the absurd. The menu lists cocktails at $8 or $10 which on the face of it seems highly reasonable but the menu does not of course disclose the bordering on doll-house-sized glasses employed. My riff on a bloody mary, made with sangrita rather than tomato juice (which the bar did not have) was delicious. But the smallish glass was packed with large ice cubes, which kept bumping into my face as I was sipping. My cocktail was a monster compared to my companion's though, a very good watermelon and tequila concoction presented in what was the mini-est of margarita glasses. The drinks also took absolutely forever to come, which may be why the admirable Russ brought us a cucumber salad on the house and gave us cards for free drinks at the end of the meal, saying 'it's always nice to see people from the neighborhood in here'. And, I was observing closely and not all tables received this treatment. It was a graceful way to handle the fact that we were well into our meal before the cocktails made an appearance.

'But what about the food?' you may be beginning to wonder. When one of the two best things you have is a green salad, in a place this meat-centric, it puzzles a bit. Very good salad, extremely fresh greens with a light faintly citrus dressing and threads of fried ginger and chili atop. But very simple. The smoked pork loin, shaved in paper-thin rounds, is silky and luscious with a velvety texture of which my friend said, 'It's like good hamachi. The sushi of meat.' A very creamy herbed ailoli is served alongside. It also came, as all meat dishes did, with a small and pretty brilliant side salad.These side salads sometimes outshown the dishes they were accompanying and offer a frustrating hint at how very good this kitchen can be at times. The least successful salad, the comped cucumber with sesame, was acceptable if not terribly exciting. it was a good foil for the 'salted chiles' we ordered which we piled on the brisket. Of which brisket I would say oh dear. Not terribly flavorful, texture OK if a bit chewy at times (like 'salt water taffy' my companion opined) on some of the leaner pieces. But just not memorable at all. And the buns served with it are a travesty: sticky, gummy and dense. We pushed them aside and ate the brisket smeared with the chili paste and aioli it is served with and stacked with the cilantro and sweet pickled red onions on the plate, the whole topped with a salted chile. Worked for us. We also ordered the coriander bacon, which while tasty was nothing remarkable (and I thought a little fatty). What was remarked on was the wobbly, almost curd-like and rather disgusting texture of the 'curry custard' served as a condiment. Ugh.

Food comes out quickly-- even with me, the slowest of eaters, at table our check shows an opening and closing time 63 minutes apart. $80 before tip, and we left a large one because the service was so good--along with the great waiter, the rest of the staff quickly brought extra utensils requested, extra ailoli we wanted, cleared empty plates and steadily replenished water glasses. The prices are on the high side as others have complained but I don't think the overall cost of the meal was. True the servings tend to the modest; the loin was $11, brisket $18, bacon $ 11. But this is such rich, meaty food that it's very filling. I only wish much of it tasted better.

We discussed that we would go back, free drink tickets in hand, and order the pork loin again. That was the one memorable, really enjoyable dish.

Sardines aren't for sissies.---Frank Bruni------------------------------------------------------------The mistake one makes is to react to what people post rather than to what they mean.---Dr. Johnson-------------------------------------------------------------I want to be the girl with the most cake.

I was there last night, and I agree with Daisy's review in most respects. I was seated on the third floor, which is the quietest and most comfortable place to be. Of course, all is relative.

Those small cocktail glasses are similar to the ones I've seen in other Serious Cocktail Bars (Sneakeater's term). I had three of 'em, and they did indeed take quite a while to come out.

The best dish I had was the Red Curry Rubbed Duck, which was a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10. The brisket wasn't a patch on what they serve at Hill Country. For some reason there are no knives at this restaurant, and it was hopeless to cut it with a fork. I agree that the bacon, while just fine, was nothing special. The cucumber salad served its purpose, as a foil to the meats.

I had no issue with the pacing of the meal, especially given the mantra of all the "Fatty" restaurants, namely to serve the plates "as and when they're ready." Perhaps I just got lucky, but the items I ordered came out at reasonable intervals. Here again, all things are relative: I don't think anyone expects a long, leisurely meal at at barbecue joint.

My dinner was about 90 bucks, including tax and tip, which is awfully expensive for barbecue.

I am well-acquainted with the Serious Cocktail thing. Our drinks were small even by that standard.

And as Wilfrid I believe said intially in this thread, this is not a barbecue restaurant.

Sardines aren't for sissies.---Frank Bruni------------------------------------------------------------The mistake one makes is to react to what people post rather than to what they mean.---Dr. Johnson-------------------------------------------------------------I want to be the girl with the most cake.

The pork loin was very good indeed. As were all the condiments, side salads and sauces with the exception of that wretched curry goo (and that was more of a textural issue than a flavor one). But the only things remarkable in any way were the friendliness of FOH and the excellence of the service.

Sardines aren't for sissies.---Frank Bruni------------------------------------------------------------The mistake one makes is to react to what people post rather than to what they mean.---Dr. Johnson-------------------------------------------------------------I want to be the girl with the most cake.